


A Little Bit Amazing

by dashi



Category: The Chronicles of Chrestomanci - Diana Wynne Jones
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Misses Clause Challenge, Women Being Awesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-16 00:20:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13042602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dashi/pseuds/dashi
Summary: Roger was exasperated. 'Julia's soldiersalwaysrun away!''Because that's just what I would do,' Julia said, putting out a knitting-needle to mark her place in her book. 'I can't think why all soldiers don't.''Well, make them a bit braver,' said Roger. 'It's not fair on Eric."'You only said make them move,' Julia was arguing, when the door opened and Gwendoline put her head in.'I want Cat,' she said.'He's busy,' said Roger.'That doesn't matter,' said Gwendoline. 'I need him.'Julia stretched out a knitting-needle towards Gwendoline and wrote a little cross in the air with it. The cross floated, glowing, for a second. 'Out', said Julia. 'Go away.' Gwendoline backed away from the cross and shut the door again. It was as if she could not help herself. The expression on her face was very annoyed indeed. Julia smiled placidly and pointed her knitting-needle towards Cat's soldiers. 'Carry on,' she said. 'I've filled their hearts with courage.'--Charmed Life





	A Little Bit Amazing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alltoseek](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alltoseek/gifts).



> Thanks to my anonymous beta reader!

It had been a disastrous day at Chrestomanci castle, and now it was evening and Julia couldn’t sleep. All her usual ways of relaxing before bedtime were just making her more wound up - reading, knitting, thinking up terrible revenges on Gwendoline… none of it was working. She couldn’t talk to Roger, she’d peeked into his room and heard him snoring gently. The only option left was going to the treehouse. She had never gone there at night by herself, but once she’d made the decision, the thought of doing something out of the ordinary filled her with excitement. She and Roger had stocked the treehouse with blankets and cushions and they even had a secret stash of marmalade there - it would be perfect.

Julia snuck out of her room, tiptoed through the kitchen, and picked up a loaf of bread left over from the morning. Hugging it close to her she crept out of the castle and walked across the lawn to the edge of the grove of trees. It should have been a beautiful walk under the full moon, but Julia was still stuck in her own thoughts. She was angry with Gwendoline, but also frustrated with herself for not being able to stop the other girl from taunting her, and for seeming weak when she knew she did have strong magic of her own - when she could be bothered to use it. If she was being totally honest with herself, she was frustrated with her parents too, for never expecting her to be anything better than ordinary. 

Julia hesitated for a moment to inspect a shadowy shape lying across her path, something about the way it twisted made her shudder. She took one careful step closer - and realised that it was in fact a harmless stick. Feeling a little silly, Julia aimed a huge kick at it, and scowled as it flew off into the air. She would never forgive Gwendoline for those snakes, never.

Julia reached the treehouse, then tucked the bread carefully under one arm and started to climb the ladder. Halfway up she heard a scuffle above her and saw a glimmer of light through the open trapdoor. Heart beating fast, she steadied herself on the ladder and listened. Footsteps -- who would be in the treehouse at night? Taking a deep breath, she tossed the bread up through the trapdoor so she had both hands free, then wriggled her hanky out from her pocket ready to cast a protection spell if needed. She hauled herself up through the trapdoor and saw a figure about her height, backed up against the wall. It was hard to see, but from the long hair Julia assumed it was a girl.

“What on earth are you doing here? Get out of our treehouse! You’re not allowed!” Her fright evaporating, Julia was enraged. She grabbed a broom from the corner and brandished it menacingly. 

The girl looked startled, and came forward slightly away from the walls, towards the lantern (Roger’s) which sat on the upturned wooden apple box the siblings used as a coffee table. 

“I’m sorry… I’ll get out of here…”

Julia’s mouth dropped open, stunned, as the girl’s face came out of the shadows. It was Gwendoline! And yet, she looked wrong. Standing there slightly hunched, instead of proudly upright… and she’d never heard Gwendoline sound that way - not exactly vulnerable, but a little unsure of herself, and apologetic. 

“Gwendoline? That’s not you, is it?” She shoved the broom towards the girl, indicating she should reply.

The girl licked her lips nervously, then spoke. “Is that the sort of question it’s impossible to answer? I mean, I am me, even if I’m not the me you think I am.”

Julia lowered the broom. “Okay, you’re not Gwendoline. Explain please!”

By the time Janet had explained how she had woken up naked in a bathtub, surrounded by confusing clothes, and how she’d searched the room for clues to what had happened, and eventually found the letter Gwendoline had written to her explaining how she had swapped all her doubles throughout multiple worlds, Julia’s head was spinning. It was fantastic! Quite the most exciting thing to have happened at the castle for a long time - and she was the first to know about it! Best of all, she was rid of Gwendoline. Still, she needed to think about what to do next. Julia’s mother and father had told stories about exploring other worlds, but whenever Julia showed an interest they murmured about how dangerous it was and changed the subject.

“And so,” concluded Janet, “The castle was making my head fuzzy, so I thought I’d explore the garden, and ended up here. Who’s Cat, by the way?” Janet’s abrupt question brought Julia back from her musings.

“Oh - he’s your brother.” Her brow wrinkled. “I don’t know anything about Mr Nostrum though. Don’t you have a brother too though, if you’re Gwendoline’s double?”

“I did, but he died when he was born.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” Janet said awkwardly. She frowned slightly, as what Janet has just said seemed to remind her of something. 

“It’s okay, I never knew him.” Janet shrugged. “I did always want a brother or sister though.”

There was a pause, and Julia searched around for something else to talk about. Her eye lit upon an unusual object in the dustiest corner of the treehouse (was it a beige beret?), so she stood up and went to investigate. Ah, the loaf. 

“Do you want some food? You must be starving!” 

She offered the bread to Janet, who stared at it - one end of it was flat as a pancake, the other was its usual shape but was covered with dust. The final touch was a cobweb, spread across the top of the loaf like a doily. Julia brought out the jar of marmalade from its hiding place on the bookshelf (tucked safely behind _Best Friends in the Fifth._ ).

“Sorry about the state of the bread - it got a bit squished.” Julia prodded the loaf, wrinkling her nose a little when it failed to bounce back at all.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve seen worse.”

“Really?” asked Julia incredulously, turning to face Janet.

“No!” Janet snorted slightly with laughter then looked embarrassed, and Julia found herself smiling. Janet may have looked identical to Gwendoline, but the more time Julia spent with her, the more she liked her.

“I suppose it will taste the same.” said Janet dubiously, as she poked gingerly at the cobweb.

Julia sawed thick slices off the loaf with her pocket knife, scattering the crumbs across the wooden floor like constellations. They each ate two slices, with marmalade spread so thickly on the top that they were awkward to hold. Julia was thinking furiously - she was used to responding to things, not setting them in motion. But Janet needed help. 

“Right.” said Julia calmly, turning to face Janet. “First thing tomorrow we talk to Cat. He’s nice. And if Gwendoline is saying Cat must do what this Mr Nostrum says, then I think we should make sure he doesn’t.”

“Sounds like a swell plan, pardner.” replied Janet. 

Julia quirked her head up at Janet. “Is that a yes?” 

Janet nodded emphatically, her mouth now full of bread and marmalade.

“Oh and Janet...” added Julia. “Before we embark on an ambitious plan to save the universe from Gwendoline… did you realise you have your nightie on back to front?”

* * *

Two days later Julia was kneeling on the treehouse floor, about to cast a spell that would allow her to talk to Gwendoline. She took a deep breath, stared into the delicate silver mirror she was holding, and recited the words she had memorised. The spell she was using was very old; she’d managed to get Michael Saunders talking during lessons about the history of summoning spells, and he’d mentioned a few books she’d been able to find in Chrestomanci’s library. Julia had been pleased with her sneakiness. Now though, she was nervous. If only they weren’t in such a hurry - Julia knew she wasn’t being as methodical as she would normally be, but Janet was getting more and more worried and they were keen to move quickly.

Julia peered closely into the mirror, but nothing seemed to be happened. Cat had helped her with the magic - it wasn’t particularly difficult, but Julia wasn’t used to wanting a spell to work like this. Janet had given her the letter with Gwendoline’s signature. She really didn’t want to let both of them down. She’d have one more go… this time she took out her handkerchief, knotting it to increase the power of her spell. Cat said she shouldn’t really need the hanky, but she found that it helped her. 

The surface of the mirror clouded over, then cleared to reveal a misty image of Gwendoline, imperious in her queen’s robes.

Julia cleared her throat. “Gwendoline.” Her voice squeaked a little, but maybe that would make it more convincing.

Gwendoline did an impressive double-take. “Julia! You certainly aren’t who I was expecting. How did you know where to find me?”

“Oh, Janet, uh that is, your replacement, told me. She’s scared of magic, I think. But she thought someone should make sure you are all right, so she asked me to. Cat told her how to cast the spell to talk to you.”

Gwendoline snorted. “Make sure I’m all right? I can look after myself. Cat’s the only one I cared about at all, and I can keep an eye on him myself.”

Gwendoline drummed her fingers impatiently against the side of her face. Interesting, thought Julia. She doesn’t want to be friendly, but she hasn’t left yet.

“Gwendoline,” started Julia tentatively. “Do you think you could…could help me sometimes? You’ve done so many amazing things, and I just wondered if maybe you could give me some help with magic?” 

Gwendoline raised her eyebrows disbelievingly, and Julia forced herself to continue. “I mean, those spells you cast, they are so clever… I wondered if sometimes, I could talk to you?”  
“Talk to you? Why would I want to talk to you? I think I’d rather talk to… well, to anyone. Even the boot boy has stronger magic than you, or your brother.” sneered Gwendoline. Julia stared back impassively. She was impressed, she hadn’t realised a sneer could be so incredulous.

“Actually,” said Julia slowly. “Since you mentioned him - I would like to ask you something...” 

“About the boot boy?”

“No, Roger.”

“About Roger? Why on earth would I want to talk about Roger?”

“Well, it’s just… I was thinking about what you said, and I’ve decided you were right. About … about me being a disappointment. You’ve been so clever, working out how to use Cat’s magic, and I was wondering…. I know I could never be as powerful as you, but if you could help me to use Roger’s magic, I’d be much better at casting spells, and maybe people wouldn’t think I was such a failure.” Julia hardly dared look up at the mirror. Would Gwendoline believe her? Had she laid it on too thick? Probably not, after all this was Gwendoline she was talking to, and however powerful Gwendoline might be, she had never really mastered subtlety. “I just want my parents to be proud of me. And… and I wish I wasn’t so fat.” she added sadly. It wasn’t true, she didn’t really care, but Gwendoline had insulted her appearance so often that it must be important to her. She reflected that if Gwendoline did believe all this, then she must think very poorly of Julia indeed.

There was a pause, long enough that Julia started to feel hopeful. She peered through her lashes at the mirror back, and watched Gwendoline’s expression as it went from superior, to calculating, then gleeful. She obviously loved the idea of stirring up trouble in Chrestomanci’s family, right under his nose. 

“Alright,” she said magnanimously. “I’ll help you.”

The dark feeling of foreboding vanished from the pit of Julia’s stomach, to be replaced with a lighter joyous feeling which almost seemed to bubble out of her. Feeling inches taller, Julia endeavoured to retain her meek expression as Gwendoline explained to her (somewhat patronisingly) exactly how she could access Roger’s magic. “Patronise away, Gwendoline.” thought Julia. 

She thanked the other girl humbly for the instructions, then ended the communication spell with a promise never to contact Gwendoline ever again. Her heart thudded in her chest, she’d managed to stay calm throughout the conversation, but now the adrenaline rushed through her like a wave. 

Gwendoline had given Julia the last piece of knowledge she needed. She and Janet had spoken to Cat the previous day, and with what they had learnt from him about Mr Nostrum, Will Suggins, and Cat and Gwendoline’s history, Julia knew they would have their work cut out to untangle the big knotty mess. Now she understood how Gwendoline was using Cat’s magic, so at least they would be able to unravel that part. “Good thing I’m so good with knots!” thought Julia. She laughed out loud, that such an important thing could sound so simple when everything was so serious, but it was true, she had always been good at tangling and untangling. She jumped up to go and find Janet and Cat and bring them up to speed - and maybe see if they could include Roger, too. After seeing Gwendoline and Cat’s somewhat parasitic sibling relationship, Julia was feeling humbly grateful for her brother. 

“Julia! Are you finished?” Janet’s loud whisper broke through her thoughts. “I heard you laughing - did you find out what you needed?”

“Sure thing!” said Julia, borrowing one of Janet’s sayings. “It was pretty easy, really. Anyone could have done it.” 

When her mother said that, “anyone could have done it”, she meant it as a positive thing. No-one would think you were odd for doing something that anyone could have done. Part of what Julia sometimes (rather bitterly) thought of as her parents’ “cult of ordinariness”.

“Really? From what Cat said, it sounded like a difficult spell, and you had to convince Gwendoline as well. That doesn’t sound like something anyone could have done. I think it was pretty amazing.” Janet smiled at her, admiration obvious, leaving Julia slightly embarrassed, but very happy.

Julia smiled back. 

“Actually, maybe you’re right,” she thought. “I think I am a little bit amazing.”

_\--The end._


End file.
